Author of St. Michael Poker & Drinking Club and Baxter's Friends
Continuing my comments on books that influenced me most, I can truthfully say Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier contained the most beautiful use of language of any novel I’ve read. The book is lyrical, poetic. It is well known that Hemingway eschewed adjectives. Recently, I read a quote attributed to Twain, the essence of which was if a writer is unsure about the use of an adjective, the best practice is to leave it out. That, of course, is a paraphrase. By contrast, Frazier’s writing is not Spartan or sparse. It is rich and flavorful and fat with beautiful words, including adjectives along with the requisite nouns and verbs. Opening the books was like sitting down to a feast, every sentence to be savored. It taught me the possibilities of words well used.
adjectives, Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain, Hemingway, Twain
Down Cemetery Road is the much-anticipated prequel to the unforgettable Baxter’s Friends. Ned Randle raises the curtain on the formative years of Billy Bright’s life, revealing a formula for his adult years that is at once both intoxicating and utterly sobering. Down Cemetery Road delves into the disillusionment of adolescence sadly often shot down by mid-life.
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